Seattle Seahawks: 53 man roster projection
By Keith Myers
Defense
Defensive Line: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark, Brandon Mebane, Ruben Ahtyba, Jordan Hill, Cassius Marsh, T.Y. McGill, Jesse Williams
Cut: David King, Greg Scruggs, Obum Gwacham, Julius Warmsley, D’Anthony Smith, Demarcus Dobbs
This one was really tough because there’s no way I want to cut Jesse Williams. I went back and forth between him and Dobbs. Eventually I gave in and took the easy way out and left Williams on the roster.
The justification I ultimately used was that Williams played the 5-tech DE spot (the old Red Bryant role) in last week’s game. With Bruce Irvin factoring in as a DE occasionally on passing downs, that meant that the team could keep the run stuffing Williams over the pass-rushing Dobbs.
Linebacker: Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Bruce Irvin, Kevin Pierre-Lewis, Eric Pinkins, Brock Coyle
Cut: Tyrell Adams, Mike Morgan, Quayshawn Nealy, Alex Singleton
Cutting the veteran Mike Morgan wasn’t easy. He’s a special teams ace who can play both OLB spots as well as rush the passer. He just simply is too low-upside compared to the players kept.
Eric Pinkins is probably the surprise of the group that made the roster. He’s working on a position change, but continues to flash that he could be a special player. I just don’t think the Seahawks risk losing him in the waiver process.
Defensive Back: Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Cary Williams, Tharold Simon, Deshawn Shead, Dion Bailey, Tye Smith, Will Blackmon, Marcus Burley
Cut: Douglas McNeil, George Farmer, Keelan Johnson, Mohammed Seisay, Tristan Wade, Ronald Martain, Ryan Murphy, Ty Zimmerman, Keenan Lambert, Steven Terrell
Due to the tremendous depth at at defensive back, I kept and extra player here at the expense of someone on the D-line. If Chancellor doesn’t report, the team should keep one of the younger defensive backs as well.
Mohammed Seisay was the toughest of the cuts here. He shows great promise, though he’s still a bit on the raw side. Keeping Smith over Seisay was because Smith can play in the slot. It was a tough call though.
I think that McNeil and Farmer both land on the practice squad. McNeil has already made massive strides in his conversion from wide receiver. I could see him being able to contribute late this year if he’s needed.
Specialist
Kicker: Steven Hauschka
Punter: Jon Ryan
Long Snapper: Clint Gresham
Cut: none
PUP List
Jeremy Lane, Paul Richardson